In accounting and bookkeeping systems, it is frequently desired to write and post checks and other transactions. In accounting and bookkeeping usage, "posting" refers broadly to the transfer of information regarding individual transactions, such as individual checks, onto a ledger. The present invention finds particular utility in transferring information from checks onto a check ledger, but it will be understood by persons familiar with accounting and bookkeeping transactions that the present invention may be used with a variety of bookkeeping and accounting forms.
While the terms "check" and "ledger" may be used herein for ease of description, it should be understood that the invention covers all transactions wherein information regarding an individual transaction is transferred to the appropriate lines and columns of an underlying ledger or summary sheet.
It is known in the art to provide writing apparatus, often called "posting boards," wherein checks or other individual transaction forms are aligned on top of a ledger or summary form, with pressure-sensitive duplicating material therebetween. Entries made on the checks or individual transaction forms are thereby automatically duplicated on the appropriate lines and columns on the underlying ledger or summary sheets. These systems are typically known as "one write" systems, since an entry need be written only one time and will appear on both the check and the ledger or summary sheet. Posting boards for "one write" systems of this type are illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,429,902 and 4,687,229, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.
Prior posting boards typically have a series of locating pins along one edge of a flat writing surface. The "one write" forms, i.e., the underlying forms and the check stubs, are aligned by placing the perforations in the forms and the perforations in the check stubs over the pins. A means of retaining the forms and checks, and securing them in place, is usually provided.
These prior posting boards are fine for use at a desk, table or counter, but can be bulky and unwieldy to carry in a briefcase, and are difficult to use in a confined space such as an automobile or while sitting in a train or airplane seat. However, it is often necessary to carry a posting board or the like from an office environment into the field. There is therefore a need for a small, easily portable writing apparatus that enables a user to take "one write" forms along when he or she leaves the office, and write checks or other transactions and post them to a ledger or summary sheet while traveling. The present invention is such an apparatus.